1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a remote operation technique of a screen.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a screen sharing technique which displays a screen displayed on an information processing apparatus via a network and allows a remote operation is known. In a screen sharing system using this technique, one or more information processing apparatuses as remote operation targets (to be referred to as apparatuses to be shared hereinafter) and an information processing apparatus which performs a remote operation are configured to make data communications with each other via a network.
Upon exchanging image information in the screen sharing system, the apparatus to be shared captures an output screen, and transmits it to the information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus outputs the received output screen to an output device such as a projector connected to itself.
Upon exchanging operation information, operation information such as a mouse event generated within a display region of an image displayed on the information processing apparatus side is captured, and coordinates and the operation information are transmitted to the apparatus to be shared. The apparatus to be shared generates an output screen which reflects the received coordinates and operation information.
By exchanging the operation information, coordinates, and images, the information processing apparatus displays a screen to be shared at a remote place and can operate the displayed screen. In such screen sharing system, the size of the screen to be shared at the remote place is not always the same as that of a sharing screen display region designated by the information processing apparatus side. For this reason, a sharing image received by the information processing apparatus side is often normally enlarged or reduced to be fit to the display region.
The screen sharing system which captures intact the output screen of the apparatus to be shared has been described. Also, a window sharing system which exchanges a specific window of the apparatus to be shared as a sharing window is available.
The window sharing system designates a screen to be shared for each window to attain screen sharing (although window sharing is also called application sharing, the present invention will refer to such system as window sharing). In case of the window sharing system, since the size of a window to be shared at a remote place is not always the same as a sharing screen display region size designated by the information processing apparatus side as in the screen sharing system, the same processing is applied to the window. For example, when a window to be shared of the apparatus to be shared is smaller than the sharing screen display region size on the information processing apparatus side, it is displayed in an enlarged scale compared to the original size; otherwise, it is displayed in a reduced scale. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-059083 discloses a screen sharing technique which allows a remote operation of a computer terminal connected via a predetermined network while confirming the contents of a screen of the computer terminal.
As described above, in the screen sharing system, the information processing apparatus side sets a sharing screen display region, a mouse event within that region is captured, and a mouse event is executed on the remote terminal to be shared. When the size of the window to be shared on the apparatus to be shared side is to be enlarged by dragging the end of the window by making a cursor operation in the sharing screen display region on the information processing apparatus side, a range that allows an enlargement operation is unwantedly limited.
More specifically, the drag operation in the sharing screen display region is transmitted to the remote place. In this case, when the user attempts to continue the drag operation to a position outside the sharing screen display region, a mouse event can no longer be captured when a dragging cursor falls outside the sharing screen display region. Hence, no more operation event cannot be transmitted to the remote place. As a result, a range that allows an enlargement operation of the window to be shared by a remote drag operation of its end is limited to that within the sharing screen display region.
As another problem, an allowable enlargement limit of the sharing window cannot be determined upon enlarging the sharing window on the information processing apparatus side in the screen sharing system. For this reason, when an operator performs a window enlargement operation on the information processing apparatus side, if the window size cannot be enlarged to exceed the desktop size of the apparatus to be shared, the window size cannot be enlarged as the operator intended.